Lemon Pickle

Ingredients:

Lemons - 4
Salt       - 4 tbsp
Sugar   - 4 tbsp
Chili powder - 2 tsp

Method:
Dice the lemons. Put them in a air tight sterilized jar. Add the salt, sugar and chili powder. Mix well to marry all ingredients well.
 

Close the jar and keep it in a sunny spot for a couple of days. Remember to bring the jar indoors in the evening.

This pickle is best served at room temperature. Great accompaniment to any Indian meal, also try it with couscous and Moroccan lamb stew (Will be sharing it on the blog soon).

Storing Tips: Keeps well in the fridge for a couple of months and best consumed within a month if kept at room temperature. The taste intensifies with time.

Chocolate Bombs

This was a joint venture with my eight year old daughter. There were two caramel cupcakes, some crushed biscuits which no one wanted to reach out for. Following the adage "waste not, want not" I crushed the cupcakes and the biscuits in a food processor with 2 tablespoons of cream and 2 tablespoons cocoa powder.  rolled with dessicated coconut and viola! a yummy dessert was ready in a jiffy.

Before:

During: This is what the biscuits and cupcakes looked like after a blitz in the food processor, with cream and cocoa powder.

My little daughter helped me roll the chocolate bombs, made my day when she said "mum, I enjoy cooking with you" :-))

Perfect little Choc Bombs........

Fruits of labor..............

We discovered that the chocolate bombs tasted better after keeping them in the fridge for a couple of hours.

These were simply divine, shared some with a friend, devoured a few after dinner and saved two for my little helper's lunch box to take to school tomorrow :-))

Oven Roasted Veggies

I love these oven roasted veggies, so easy to make and delicious with a meal or on their own.  I have indulged in a bowl full of these roasted treats topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt, taking comfort food to a whole new different level...yummm.......!

Ingredients:
Potatoes - 4 big
Sweet potato - 2
Olive oil - 2tbsp
Garlic- 1tsp chopped finely
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh dill leaves to garnish

Method:
Peel and cube the potato and sweet potatoes. Take an oven proof dish large enough to spread the potatoes evenly. In a large mixing bowl, add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, oil, salt and chopped garlic. Mix well to spread the oil and salt evenly on the veggies. Spread the veggies out onto the oven proof dish. I cooked them uncovered in a preheated oven for about 50 minutes in a fan forced oven at 160 degrees Celcius. The cooking time will vary I suppose according to your oven type.

Garnish the veggies with chopped dill leaves and serve hot.

Tomato Chutney

My family is very fond of Pickles and Chutneys. Most meals are accompanied by one or the other.

This recipe originally was a pickle recipe used by my mother and mother in law.... a long drawn laborious process which takes at least 3 days; where you have to sun the chopped tomatoes and then start the pickling process...hmph! I'm tired just thinking of it !!

Unfortunately I lack the patience and the due diligence that is required by the original recipe, so I have tweaked it to suit my fast paced lifestyle and let me tell you, after a tasting both mum and mum-in-law approve - even if a bit grudgingly ;-)

Try this recipe and I can assure you of some approving nods at your dining table too :-))

Ingredients:

Tomatoes               - Big sized 2 (must be ripe and juicy)
Ginger garlic paste - 1 tbsp
Coriander powder  - 1tbsp
Cumin powder       - 1tsp
Vinegar                  - 1/4 cup
Sugar                     - 3 tbsp
Salt                        -  2 tbsp
Red Chilli powder   -  2tbsp
Oil                          - 3tbsp

Method:
Chop finely the tomatoes. Heat oil in a pan. Add the ginger garlic paste stirring constantly as the ginger has a tendency to stick to the pan. When the paste turns light brown add the dry powders (Coriander, Cumin, Chilli). Mix them well in the pan. Add tomatoes, sugar and salt. Cook on slow flame, mashing the tomatoes in the pan along with other ingredients. Add vinegar once the oil separates from the tomato mix. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Cool the chutney completely before pouring it in an airtight jar. This keeps well outside for a week and for about a month in the refrigerator. You will find that the taste of this chutney improves with time. You can serve this as a delicious accompaniment with any meal or even as a spread over sandwiches mixed with some mayo. As is the case with all pickles and chutneys, always use a dry clean spoon to take out the chutney from the jar.

Spaghetti with home made meat sauce

This is true comfort food as far as I'm concerned. Nothing soothes me more than a bowl of spaghetti slathered in the goodness of rich home made sauce, garnished with parmesan or cheddar and served with garlic bread, Yummo :-))

ingredients:

Spaghetti - 3/4 pack of Barilla
Salt

Sauce:
Onions          - 2 big, diced finely
tomatoes       - 4 big, diced finely
Tomato paste - 2 tbsp
Celery stick   - 1 diced finely
Minced beef   - 300gms
Capsicum      - 1/2 cup diced
Garlic             - 2 tbsp, chopped
Sugar             - 1tsp
Cayenne pepper - 1tsp (optional)
white flour         - 1 tbsp
Salt & Pepper to taste

Garnish: Grated Parmesan

Method:
Boil Spaghetti in salted water and cook until al-dente. Drain and keep aside.

Sauce: Heat oil in a pan, add onion and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, salt and sugar. Cook until the tomatoes are mashed completely into the onions. Add capsicums, mince, cayenne pepper if using and cook on medium flame, stirring every now and then. Mix the white flour in half cup water and stir into the sauce. Let the sauce simmer gently for about 20 minutes, covered.

Once the sauce is done spoon the sauce over the spaghetti  and garnish with grated Parmesan. In my case it was the cheddar as I didn't have the Parmesan on hand :-))

GARLIC BREAD:
Garlic bread shown in the picture above is Ciabatta. I minced a clove of garlic, added a dash of salt and Italian herbs. Mixed the garlic with a tablespoon of butter and smeared this on top of the Ciabatta cut diagonally. You can either grill this or heat it in the oven until the butter has melted and the bread is a bit crisp.